Purchasing clothing, and particularly children's clothing, can be a taxing activity. The children themselves can frequently be uncooperative, leaving shoppers to purchase children's clothing without the children present. Further, it is often the case that children's clothing is bought as a gift for a child, and therefore the child is not present to ensure that the clothing fits properly. To add to this confusion, the physical size of garments which are labeled with the same size can frequently differ sufficiently such that a garment labeled "3T" from one manufacturer may be a totally different size than a garment labeled "3T" from another manufacturer.
Age, (as is often used on sizing labels of children's clothing) is not a consistent determining factor in the sizing of a garment. For example, a child of ten months of age will not always be a size two and, as noted above, the size of clothing itself varies from manufacturer to manufacturer even though the size designated may be the same. Add to this, the fact that different fabrics will result in different sizes, and a consumer is faced with a daunting task of attempting to find clothing that fits a particular child.
The result of this confusing situation is not simply a large number of irate consumers dissatisfied with the sizing of children's clothing. The effects are felt in other areas of commerce. For example, when clothing is returned to a retailer, a consumer must go thorough the process of either obtaining a credit or refund of the money paid for the garment. This takes the time and effort not only of the consumer in traveling back to the store, but requires the time and effort of the employees of the store itself. It also involves credit and banking transactions. Thus, money is wasted in such an exchange by virtue of the fact that individuals must be assigned to the exchange and return task without yielding any resulting sale. Thus, there is a financial drain on the staffing resources of the retailer.
Some attempts have been made to provide measuring devices that are somewhat portable in nature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,062,525 to Ward describes a portable gauge having rings which nest inside one another. However, such series of rings cannot be slipped over an infant in order to determine the appropriate size.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,977,684 to Campanile was issued for a neck seal sizing template. This is an invention for measuring neck seals associated with flying anti-exposure suits worn for protection against cold water exposure. The template is a conical shaped device for measuring neck size.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,215 to Hart was issued for a transportable measuring device for children's clothes. This invention basically constitutes a form of tape measure which is useful for measuring length but is not particularly productive in measuring the circumference of waists or chest dimensions on clothing which are equally important in the fit of a garment for a child or infant.
What would therefore be useful is a device which could be used to measure the dimensions of an individual (child or adult) which could then be used with a more rigid device that would be transportable, and be able to fit inside a garment to simulate the body dimensions of the potential wearer. Ideally this device would be portable and would be used to compare the fit of the garment to the individual without the individual present and before the garment is purchased.